The present invention relates generally to a joint support or brace and, more particularly, to a joint support which is capable of being used underwater or in a wet environment.
Perhaps one does not appreciate the amount of support provided by the knee until it becomes injured or impaired. The knee is the largest joint of the body and must support the entire weight of the upper body during the normal course of walking, running and other activities. Injuries to the knee are serious, due not only to the fact that the knee plays a major part in the normal human gait but, since the knee must support great stresses, such stresses may aggravate any injury and prolong the healing process, unless the injured person can keep all weight off the knee as, for example, by using crutches or remaining in traction until healing is completed. Most people, however, do not prefer to remain immobile until the healing process is completed. Moreover, a certain degree of exercise for the patient's muscles is encouraged in order to prevent them from becoming unreasonably weak through lack of use. However, a physician may wish to restrict certain types of leg motion or to provide support to the knee until some damaged tissue has healed itself. As such, orthopedic devices are made available to provide support to the knee, or similarly, to other joints such as the elbow, during the healing process. Various devices have been developed to restrict the knee, especially during normal knee movements in the practice of athletics. These devices are used on injured, unhealthy or congenital knee problems which exhibit atrophy or weakness. As stated earlier, such devices are also available to restrict motion of, and provide support to, other joints such as the elbow.
Orthopedic devices of this general character have been developed in the past for the primary purpose of holding the leg or arm of a patient in a rigid posture, particularly during the recovery interval following surgery on the knee or elbow joint. In addition to providing post-surgical support, such devices have been used to provide support to a knee or elbow which has been weakened because of torn ligaments, torn cartilage, arthritis and the like.
Some of the previous supportive devices have made extensive use of heavy duty elastic material to provide support for the knee. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,804 to Lewis. This device includes a main body in the form of an elastic cylindrical sleeve. Support is also provided by metal arms associated with the elastic sleeve, as well as, by an arrangement of pads also associated with said sleeve. Another elastic supportive device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,874 to Valin. This device employs steel members, which are used to provide lateral support to the knee.
Another of the known knee supports has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,584 to Detty, which illustrates a knee sleeve comprising a front section, a rear panel and a restrictor pad. The front section and rear panel are described as being fabricated from neoprene.
Other joint supportive devices have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,276 to Bledsoe, which shows a brace for articulated limbs comprised essentially of two flexible sheets of cushioned material; U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,586 to Hettick, which shows a tubular support for enclosing a body member comprising a stretchable elastic member having facings which possess a relatively low coefficient of friction; U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,940 to Frankel et al., which shows a contoured knee immobilizer comprised of three substantially rigid shells and foamed cushions; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,074,400 to Schulman, which illustrates a knee cap brace, which employs plastic or metallic stays to provide support.
While all of these various devices may have solved one or more special problems, none of the devices have been offered for use underwater or in a wet environment. Thus, athletes who partake in activities such as swimming, surfing, skin diving, water skiing and the like, are prevented from doing so during the post-surgical healing stage of the joint or during a time period when the joint has become injured or weakened, since a joint support which can be used underwater or in a wet environment has heretofore been unavailable. Similarly, until now, a person was unable to shower or bathe with the aid of a knee support and, unfortunately, knee injuries have been compounded, since a weakened knee, unaided by a supportive device, is unable to tolerate the stress required to support a person who wishes to stand upright in a shower. Such stress will only cause a knee injury to become aggravated or, even worse, can cause a person to slip while entering a bath tub, which can result in a serious injury.
Additionally, none of the supportive devices which are currently available can be used by a patient undergoing whirlpool therapy.
The knee supports currently available are structurally deficient for the use contemplated by the present invention for a variety of reasons. First, if the materials generally used in fabricating the currently available supportive devices are caused to become wet, the entire supportive device will become unreasonably heavy, thereby producing an added stress on the joint. Second, this additional weight will invariably cause the knee to become less buoyant in the water and, as a result, a swimmer would have to use injured muscles just to keep the knee afloat. Furthermore, the materials generally used will gradually, and in some instances, rapidly deteriorate with repeated exposure to water, especially salt water. Thus, the durability and life of the supportive device is drastically minimized. Another noted deficiency of the supportive devices currently available is observed in their construction, which results in a device that is incompatible with the intended use of the present device. Specifically, many of the known devices are structurally too cumbersome for underwater use. One of the negative effects of cumbersome construction is the lack of comfort experienced by the user. Moreover, as the supportive device becomes wet, it has a tendency to become vertically displaced along the arm or leg. As such, the device can become disassociated from the joint and will fail to provide the support required. This results in the user being required to regularly make adjustment to the device, which impedes his or her ability to partake in the intended activity.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a joint support which is capable of being used underwater or in a wet environment.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a joint support that maintains its weight when it becomes wet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a joint support that is buoyant.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a joint support that is durable and, which will maintain its integrity after prolonged and repetitive exposure to water, especially salt water.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a joint support which maintains its position about the knee or elbow area while being used.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a joint support which is structurally non-cumbersome.